[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 236 (Friday, December 9, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 73262]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-23863]


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DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: Fruitlands Museums, Harvard, MA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice is here given in accordance with provisions of the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 
3003, of the completion of an inventory of human remains and associated 
funerary objects in the possession of the Fruitlands Museums, Harvard, 
MA. The human remains and associated funerary object were removed from 
an unknown location in the State of New York.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003 (d)(3). 
The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native 
American human remains and associated funerary objects. The National 
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the 
Fruitlands Museums professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Seneca Nation of New York, Seneca-Cayuga Tribe 
of Oklahoma, and Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians of New York.
    In 1830, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were removed from an unknown location by Mr. Jessie L. Farwell, an 
undertaker designated by the State of New York. Mr. Farwell gave the 
remains to Mr. John M. Locke, grandfather of Edgar Corbin. In 1924, Mr. 
Corbin gave the human remains to Mrs. Arthur Bullard (daughter of Ely 
S. Parker, a Tonawanda Seneca). Sometime between 1930 and 1937, Mrs. 
Bullard gave the remains to Miss Clara Endicott Sears, founder of the 
Fruitlands Museums. The human remains consist of several strands of 
hair of a single individual. A letter dated October 16, 1924 from Mr. 
Corbin to Mrs. Bullard identifies the human remains as those of Red 
Jacket. The one associated funerary object is a piece of beaded fabric.
    Historical records indicate that Red Jacket, also known as 
Sakoiewatha or Sakoyewatha, was a Seneca Indian born in the 1750s. Red 
Jacket was a Chief of the Seneca after the Revolutionary War. Red 
Jacket also played an important role in the negotiations leading to the 
signing of the Treaty of Canandaigua in 1794. The 1924 letter states 
that while serving with the British Army during the revolutionary 
period, Major Joshua Locke, the father of Mr. Locke and great-
grandfather of Mr. Corbin, met Red Jacket.
    Officials of the Fruitlands Museums have determined that, pursuant 
to 25 U.S.C. (9-10), the human remains described above represent the 
physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry. 
Officials of the Fruitlands Museums also have determined that, pursuant 
to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(A), the one object described above is reasonably 
believed to have been placed with or near individual human remains at 
the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony. 
Lastly, officials of the Fruitlands Museums have determined that, 
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2), there is a relationship of shared group 
identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native American 
human remains and associated funerary object and the Seneca Nation of 
New York.
    Any lineal descendant or representatives of any other Indian tribe 
that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human remains 
and associated funerary object should contact Michael A. Volmar, 
Curator, Fruitlands Museums, 102 Prospect Hill Road, Harvard, MA 01451, 
telephone (978) 456-3924 extension 228, before January 9, 2006. 
Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary object to the 
Seneca Nation of New York may proceed after that date if no additional 
claimants come forward.
    The Fruitlands Museums is responsible for notifying the Seneca 
Nation of New York, Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma, and Tonawanda Band 
of Seneca Indians of New York that this notice has been published.

    Dated: October 4, 2005.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 05-23863 Filed 12-8-05; 8:45 am]
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